Motivation

So, the second week into my "big plans" is going fairly well. Admittedly, the baby in my life ensures that my goals for each day are much easier to get started on that to actually finish; but slow progress is still progress! I have felt more in control and less overwhelmed by all the things I want to get done. Will probably have to tweak as I get more and more into a rhythm, but you have to start somewhere!

Have been inspired by my progress in a few different ways recently; it's amazing how just getting started on something can be such a motivator in and of itself. There is much to be said for momentum!

Just filled out my application today for the Cherrywood Art Fair. `Fingers crossed` I will be accepted because I am all geared up and excited about making sure I have a large enough stockpile of merchandise for a two day show! I recently bought some new yarns for my ball ornaments, but just had them jumbled together, so getting a nice big tub for this particular craft's makings was really fun and fortifying for my notions of having a lovely pile of finished balls.

I'm totally inspired by looking at the colored yarns next to each other and imagining what variations I can come up with next!

It is a little daunting to invest so much time/money/energy with no "payoff" as of yet; but I love making things and am confident that it will all be worthwhile ultimately. I have had some lovely feedback and interest shown in my items; slow and steady will eventually win the race, I'm sure!

Also was included in another treasury with a "Lush Lavender" theme. Having this kind of affirmation really gives me a little jolt of creative energy to keep making pretty things! Thanks chrysbonnaylewis!

If all that wasn't motivation enough, finally "broke ground" (or more accurately: "broke wall") on the project of renovating my garage into a glorious family art studio! It is trying at times to be patient for this much anticipated metamorphoses to hurry up and happen. I have to remind myself to be patient though, as my father and brother-in-law are being so generous to give freely of their time and talents. Verrrrry excited to at least have some progress though! Oh, the lovelies I'll be able to make then...

Big plans

Alright, so I've got big plans a-brewing.  Well, they may not seem big right now, but they could be and will be if I get my way.  Being a SAHM is an interesting shift for me.  I love it and feel very fortunate to be able to do it.  It gives me options though, instead of excuses.  

I have so many things that I want to accomplish and different directions I need to be headed, with a baby on top; I was getting a big disheartened and lost in the mix.  I am torn constantly between giving my baby all the attention she deserves (and demands these days with the early crawling/attempts to walk!), working on my art, keeping my house clean, cooking, revamping/maintaining my yard, working on my online presence as an etsy store and keeping up with friends, family and my husband.  I have the vestiges of a superwoman complex, so I expect great things from myself and am always disappointed a little that I don't constantly amaze myself.

Daughter has taken to trolling the floors for fluff and schmutz to put in her mouth, which has made me realize just how much fluff and schmutz is everywhere in my house!  This has made housekeeping forefront in my mind.  I am not a germ-a-phobe, quite the contrary, but no one wants their baby to chew on a wad of hair/lint/plastic as though it were chewing tobacoo.  (thankfully she didn't choke!)  So, I've decided to start systematizing things a bit.  I know I should go do the flylady thing, but I can't really stand looking at the character long enough to get very much out of that website; maybe someday I will.  KatinkaPinka gave advice of picking a day to be your cleaning day so that you wouldn't feel guilty other days and you would have time allotted for things, etc.  That sounded more my speed, at least for getting started.

This is the first week of doing things this way, so all this is subject to change. :D*

Monday= Cleaning Day.  Any free time I get will be spent cleaning.  ('any free time I get' being the operative phrase!)  I did get some stuff accomplished, but had to leave several jobs only partly done.  Hopefully I will get better at this once I have a few weeks under my belt.  I did clean many floors and feel better about the amount of crap that my baby can find now.

General tidying and cleaning is supposed to happen during the rest of the week as well.  This is still a bit of a stumbling block for me.

Tuesday 

Morning= Yoga at Sundara Yoga Therapy!  Some "me" time as well as being a way for me to take care of my body so that I am better able to do all the things that are needed of me.  This place is great.  Best teachers evar and super good prices/policies!  Nice, nice folks! 

Yay, time for crafting as much as possible mixed with husband's typical off day.

Wednesday= Gymboree for the babe.  This makes me feel better about the other times in the week when I can't be a constant source of amusement for my child.

More crafting time mixed with husband's typical off day.

Thursday= Internet business day.  A day for me to go through all the emails, blogs, websites etc. that help me to further my online business venture.  Hopefully this will mean a regular weekly blog from me as well, as opposed to my rather spotty efforts thus far.  I do have a baby though...

I also have to steal moments during the rest of the week to keep up with personal internet nonsense.

Friday 

morning= Another yoga day!  This may seem excessive, but I frequently don't make it to one or both of my yoga days, so having two as an option is great.  Also, my body is pretty lame.  I have joint problems and back problems and feel older than I am, so any time I can give to doing something physical and good for my body is a good idea.

Afternoon= another Gymboree day for baby!

Any free time for art.

Saturday = Gymboree again.  This may also sound excessive, but because my daughter is in the level 2 group (6-10 mos.) She can go to all the classes that suit her age group for the same price as going just once a week costs for the other age groups.  Why?  Because that age group is going through such rapid development and growth that they want those kids to get as much stimulation and experiences as they can.  Pretty rad, no?  It's also great as a SAHM who is not much of a joiner to have a place where I can meet other parents of similarly aged babies and have my daughter around said babies.

Any free time for art.

Sunday= Free time for art etc.

I also have my sister's fambly over regularly and like to cook and bake and go places I'm invited, so all this schedule is with giant grains of salt, but hopefully will be a step in the right direction.  I'm trying to make many ornaments for (hopefully!) being in the Cherrywood Art Fair this year with celenajustine and it's going slowly but fairly steadily. 

I'm taking the fact that I found out I was included in a lovely treasury today as a good omen.

Chocolate Covered Cherries

Gotta go, baby woke up!  I had more to say, but I think I got the gist across...

Squash Vine Borers are Guh-ross! Plus musing about art.

So, my pumpkin plant got infested with squash vine borers; which are basically giant maggots that eat out the inside of squash vines (hence the name).  I read up on how to deal with them in the hopes that I don't have to give up totally on trying to grow a pumpkin this year.  You have to go in and incise the vine and get the worms out and burn them and any plant you have to cut off, burn that too.  Then you cover the cut parts with dirt/compost.  I did that and am hoping that the narsty task was not in vain.

Just heard that Pina Bausch died.  Pretty bummed about it.  Michael was bad enough, but Pina (an unfortunately not widely known genius of choreography, modern dance and theatre) too?  There has been a significant loss to the creative, artsy world and I'm taking it as motivation to create more.  

As an artist, it took me awhile to get into making things unless I had a specific reason, like a grade or a present for someone.  I finally understood that I consider it an artist's duty to put as much beauty into this world as they are able to.  When I think about how inspired I was growing up by just being exposed to art in various forms, seeing what compelling, appealing things had been created by other people, I get really excited about how art begets art.

I feel like several things have happened recently that have been making it obvious to me that, as an artist, I need to seek out other artists, for camaraderie, support, collaboration, inspiration, wisdom etc.  I recently had a craft night at my place and was warmed by having my good friend Janice there, seeing her pursue her own art completely without pretense, asking for help from her artist boyfriend when she comes up against something he's better at, being totally open about admiring someone else's work without the trappings of competitiveness, jealousy or territorial behaviors that so many artists end up with.  She and another friend, Lucy are like guileless art nymphs that make the world a much better place.

I've also been entering into collaboration with my sister, celenajustine on a booth for an art show this winter.  It's always exciting to work with her and I think it's something we have (understandably) been missing out on until now.  

Celena and I both have been getting many loving tips and critiques and advice from the wonderful and gifted KatinkaPinka, who has been kind enough to take us under her "Etsy wing".

I recently convo-ed a fellow Etsy seller, Waterrose and ended up learning a good deal about her that was not obvious upon first impression.  She turned out to be a really interesting person and the exchange reminded me just how special a person it takes to give your time and yourself to making beauty.  

All this has reminded me to never forget just how much one can learn from those around us and that we need to support each other's efforts as much as possible.

It's natural to be cage-y/competitive/guarded about yr own art/inspirado, but I think artists need to realize that working together and sharing will only "grow our market" (within reason of course).  There should be more art salons...there should be "art-ins".  Who's up for another craft night at my place?  Let's make stuff!  I just keep hearing my mother's (an art teacher) words: "this is the only class where you are encouraged to look at each other's work.  If it's better than yours, learn from it.  If it's worse, feel better about your own."

This, of course, is always easier when it's an artist that isn't making the same things you make! :D*

Happy Summer!

Well, I know it's not technically summer yet, but it feels enough like it and I figure everyone's in that state of mind, so I gave my blogge and shoppe little seasonal shift face lifts.  I plan on trying to keep up with this for all the seasons, probably recycling the same banners and stuff, but I thought it would be nice to mix it up.  

So, starting summer off fairly well.  Got a new item in the shoppe and have supplies and ideas for a few more to come.

Planted a pecan tree where I actually want one as opposed to all the volunteer ones that keep making my yard work more difficult.

My rogue lantanas (I found another one!) seem to be surviving with promises of thriving despite the fact that I butchered their tap roots whilst digging them up.  I have lost some respect for the tap root of the lantana plant.

I now have to put my baby to bed with a soft blanket, but then go in after she's fallen asleep and take it away from her so she doesn't smother herself.

Got a fancy new haircut at Avant Salon from a lovely stylist named Carianne.  She had tattoos and had her bleached blonde hair all done up like a cross between Gwen Stefani and Rosie the Riveter.  We chatted about the Make Up For Ever line because she liked my eye shadow (for those who don't know, I think this line is mostly used by drag queens and is carried by Sephora).  It was a great experience and I'm really enjoying the cut.  I may be a short hair convert, for at least a little while.

So things feel fresh and new, albeit hot.  Looking forward to changes up ahead and having the tools to tackle them.  Going to start tearing down some sheet rock any day now.  Maybe tomorrow.  I also plan to try to make pitas.  Tonight.

figs and stuff

Well, I'm in a bit of a slump in the artsy creative world.  I'm also torn.  The most important concern/endeavor is taking care of the bebe.  But what to do besides that? Deciding what for and how to use the extra energy and time that I sometimes have is a bit of a hurdle for me right now.  These are the options:

-cleaning 

-cooking

-yardwork

-prep for renovation in studio

-making things to put in my shoppe

So far, these things are seeming somewhat mutually exclusive and/or dependent on other things that don't always align properly.  I keep thinking that I could get into some kind of routine or at least quasi routine that would allow me to do all of these things, or at least more than I have been managing to do, and do them in a lovely cyclical, fulfilling way.

I take being a homemaker pretty seriously. I haven't gotten into a zone of house cleanliness yet that I would like to achieve.  Part of the issue is all the other things, part of the issue is my apparently old creaky body that doesn't like to bend or kneel very much, part of it is just that I haven't had the self discipline to make myself do it.  Along with cleanliness, I aspire to wholesome, and as old-fashioned as possible meal prep/planning.  I feel to officially achieve some of the goals I have that I need a large chest freezer.  I think I could get into a pretty great cycle of making things like tortillas, butter, chicken stock and rehydrated black beans if I had a large freezer to stock them up in.

This ties into yard work a bit.  I have some rogue pumpkin vines that I'm hoping to encourage and possibly pollinate.  Pumpkins don't always need to be pollinated, but it's good insurance if you want a pumpkin.  I don't think I would be able to time it appropriately for Halloween this year, but it seems I could try to schedule it better for next year if this year shows me it's do-able.  Unfortunately, we are without a functioning lawn mower right now so my pumpkins are surrounded by weedy jungle.  But I get all Little House on the Prairie when I think of growing pumpkins and figuring out some good pumpkin recipes.  Imagine growing my own pumpkin that I would be able to cook up for my little girl!  Imagine growing my own jack o'lanterns!  

My figs seem to be coming in like gangbusters this year.  I'm so excited!  I really hope to be able to successfully cook with some of the figs this year.   Almost every recipe I find calls for dried figs.  I still am not sure on how to do this, but this is the year I will figure it out.  I also have to wrestle every fig I use away from my husband who pops them like tic tacs.  I left some of the taller branches on this year in hopes that the birds and squirrels and stuff could be occupied by those and I can use the lower ones.  We'll see if that pipe dream comes true!  I don't care for fresh figs, but I know I could figure out how to cook with them and be able to enjoy having such a bountiful fruit tree.

I also have a Jujube tree that the Wallaces gifted me with.  I've been reading up on things to do with these fruits as well.  Lee said that it would fruit this year, but I'm dubious.  It looks happy though.

I think I've successfully made my compost heap not so attractive to interlopers and am pretty excited about that, but still a bit jumpy when I go out there.  

My front little planty/flower garden looks nice, but still needs finishing touches.  I'm usually only able to garden at night these days, after little D goes down and there's no sun to do me in.  But I have to be properly motivated to garden in the dark and that doesn't always happen.

I so want to work on the shoppe more but am feeling pulled by all of these other things as well as not having a space to work in yet, but only a space to work on, which doesn't get me any further on crafties right now.  I also have a plan for a line of embroideries, but I don't have all the supplies I need right now for that, so that's holding me back.

I did make some experimental Thai Butter Cookies last night from a recipe that came in this month's Vogue.  It didn't work out perfectly, there were some cookie casualties, but the end result is certainly tasty and inspiring to experiment with some more.  I'm also excited to try a recipe for Brown Butter from the same article.  I also made some Hummus that worked well and I fried up some triangles of tortilla to try to make chips.  The blue corn ones are a little funny, but the only just lightly fried, still chewy flour tortilla "chips"?  Delicious!  Will have to revisit.  Also on the experiment horizon, making my own pasta.  

I've made ravioli with reasonable success, and it wasn't hard.  I just want to go through my cook books and try so many things.

Getting LHOTP fever when I envision myself making all these foods that beget or lead into other foods and even being able to grow some of the ingredients myself?!  Super happy fun times!  Now if I can just choreograph it all and get my rear in gear, things will be quite snappy at the Douglas house!

Rat!

So, I cleaned out my fridge and was happily slopping the grody stuff into my compost bin when I saw a rat scurry away from said bin and into a hole in the cement foundation where a tube from my air conditioning unit goes into the house.  OMG!  My jaw dropped and I didn't even know how to handle this information.  I went and did some research because I knew that this would mean even bigger strikes against composting to my husband.  (I've only just barely gotten him to not fight me on it and throw everything away).  Boo.

So, research and a chat with Jack has garnered me these options:

1. poison

2. rat traps

3. sealing up the hole*

4. not composting anymore proteins* (I'll feel bad just tossing them though!)

5. peppermint oil sprayed all around bin

6. planting mint all around bin

7. turning compost more regularly* (I need a pitchfork!)

8. keeping compost more moist*

9. burying the scraps deeper in bin*

10. a WORM bin?!?!

11. Bokashi system

*- these things I can and will do regardless

On 10 & 11: I can't in good conscience just put all my protein/cooked food scraps in the trash!  I'll have to do it for awhile I guess until I come up with an alternate system, but I need an alternate system!  I could get a worm bin, but dude, it's a box of worms in yr house that you feed regularly.  Creep central.  The worms they recommend, get this, are called RED WIGGLERS.  I don't think I can do it.

Bokashi is something I just learned about online.  It's a mixture of wheat germ and molasses and water and some microorganisms (microorganisms supposedly available at Whole Foods).  You can make it yourself.  You need a special bucket, but you can make one for yourself if you're industrious.  You layer the stuff with any kind of food trash, it doesn't matter what.  Once the bucket is full, you leave it covered for 2 weeks. (the idea is to have two buckets that you alternate).  Once it sits, the food trash has effectively been pickled, rendering it very unappealing to critters, so it is safe to put into the the compost without attracting unwanted visitors.  It's also supposed to not be smelly in yr house while it's in the bucket and not be smelly in the compost either.

I've also read that bokashi can be used to feed chickens with and as cat litter that you can ultimately compost as well.

Not sure about spending the money to decompose my food trash on a regular basis.  Wheat germ and molasses and this EM stuff aren't the cheapest ingredients I can imagine, and it seems as though you'd have to make it and remake it fairly frequently.  This will be a sticking point for Bry as well.  

On a lighter note: I'm going to attempt to grow pumpkins.  I don't think they were planted at the right time to hit Halloween, but if this year goes well, I could time it better next year.

Any thoughts or insights are appreciated.

...studio

So, my first mother's day came and went without much ado.  I didn't get a formal pressie from husband, but, better than that, it marks the beginning of officially moving forward on renovating our garage into a studio!  The best mother's day present I could hope for.  

(Though when I did feel veeerrrry tired and low and headache-y, the Bears came and made my mother's day, while Bry was at work, as nice as possible, and we had a lovely morning with our mum at her house.)  

This is a project that I have been wistful about since we bought the house 4 yrs. ago.  Yay!  So, along with the fact that her baby was born a bit early, I had another reason to finish up my quasi quilt for Zoe quickly.  Bryan stayed up with me (so did Dicey!) for a long while as I worked in the garage late at night with the door open, sewing like the wind and thanking my lucky stars that my vague memories of quilting a tool cozy for a college draping class basically worked in informing my approach to finishing off the mini-blanket.  We had a fun time, Bryan holding D and playing with her in the grass until she finally went down for good, and then sitting on the car and sketching ideas and chatting with me so I wouldn't be spooked or harassed by the mentally handicapped teen boy that roams our street in the evenings.  We stayed up until 2 am!  But the quilt was done to my satisfaction and we got to deliver it to baby and mama the very next day.  Ah the glory of promised baby projects done before it's too late!  

Note: Bryan and I threw a baby shower for Zoe, one of the godmothers of our baby girl, that had an "Eco" theme along with pointing out that Zoe was wanting some black and white things for baby stimulation.  (What's black and white and green all over? was the line on the invite)  the activity was for people to decorate fabric squares with fabric being recycled from Half Price Books tee shirts.  So, completely using fabric that was already in my house, save for the batting and interfacing, I made this "eco-chic" version of a playmat for baby.  I even used the little scrappies that were cut along the way to pad out the border.  Fun!

So, now that my project that has been occupying my un-air-conditioned garage makeshift work area is finished, we can clear out the garage and start building a wall and putting in outlets and such so that a new era of my projecting can be ushered in.  No more transported messes migrating through the house!  No more using the front room as storage for all my homeless craftiness!  No more worrying about critters making their way into my things left out in the garage!  No more needles left out where Pete will make off with them!  No more woefully unused storage bins!  Oh the things I will be able to make, I can barely contain myself while I begin the probably lengthy process of getting the space to be actually workable.

I know some gal pals are itching for craft nights to be reinstated as well and have been hinting at having them at my place, but oh how glorious will it be to have craft nights in the studio someday!  Yippee!